Since ancient times, humanity has recognized the relationship between names and power. Chitra Divakaruni weaves a similar theme into her novel, The Mistress of Spices, in which the narrator, Tilo, uses the mystical energies of spices to help those who enter her shop. Through the eyes of the Mistress, readers witness the variety of powers and influences stemming from names associated with both characters and spices. The significance of names varies, as some simply mark a character's path throughout life while others influence the bearer's behavior and actions. Divakaruni's characters represent the idea that names are living elements with the ability to define one's lineage and reputation, carry a person's identity, and serve as a tool of control and manipulation.
To begin, the idea that a name functions as a vessel of one's legacy and lineage spans across cultures. Even in modern times people have realized that individual deeds and actions across their family tree affected the overall societal image and status of the family's name. This notion reveals itself through Lalita, an abused married woman who refuses to leave her husband, Ahuja, in order to protect her family's name. Despite Ahuja's oppressive policies about his wife's use of the telephone and contact with the outside world, Lalita submits and sacrifices her individuality and human freedoms in the marriage to prevent her family from "get[ting] a bad name" (Divakaruni 105). A family name stands as such a powerful mark of reputation and status in Indian culture that a woman like Lalita would be willing to suffer silently so that no one would complain of "those headstrong Chowdhary girls" (Divakaruni 105). Lalita's last name holds great influence, since the umbrella it creates over all the sisters binds them to a life of honor. The Chowdhary name, passed down with an embedded reputation and degree of social welfare, serves as such a key element in daily life that Lalita endures rape and violence to ensure its purity.
The brilliant new novelist Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has done just that. Born in India but now living in California, she sees her fiction-so far a collection of short stories, Arranged Marriage (1995), and a novel, The Mistress of Spices (1997)-as a way of "dissolving boundaries." ...
The brilliant new novelist Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has done just that. Born in India but now living in California, she sees her fiction-so far a collection of short stories, Arranged Marriage (1995), and a novel, The Mistress of Spices (1997)-as a way of "dissolving boundaries." ...
